| |
**Warning - this is very long! **
I haven't tacked this onto any particular thread because I've read many
bits and pieces about juniorisation and being the strongest brand over
a few months. I'm removing my AFOL cap and putting on my Mum hat
for this (as a ref. point I have a son who is almost 5), YMMV but
these are my parental observations.
My son is lucky, although we discovered Primo late in the piece (around
16m) he has been brought up on Lego, but most parents I know only
have Primo or Duplo because I gave it to them. The recurring comment
is "it's great stuff but I'd never buy it because it's so expensive and you
can't get a good selection from one set". Duplo has a limited useful life
span with small children, Primo even more so. Although Lego tout both
as being compatible with System, in reality kids just don't mix it.
My son played with his Primo for about 6 months and wouldn't touch it
once he was into Duplo. I've given my niece and nephews Primo as birth
presents and they just weren't into it until well after a year old, so the
useful lifespan isn't much longer even if it is available earlier. The Duplo
had more staying power, my son played with it every day for 2+ years
but we have a large collection, I can't see it having that staying power
if the play selection is limited (and that comes back to expense).
From the time he turned 4 my son would alternate between playing either
with the Duplo or the Juniorised Town for a couple of weeks at a time.
As the last year has progressed the times of playing with Town Jr have
increased and the forays into the Duplo have become shorter and further
apart, until now staring down the barrel of the 5th birthday I've finally put
the Duplo away and he hasn't even noticed. The one exception is the Duplo
Trains, and even they are going by the wayside. I can't really comment on
Toolo here as we've only had the small digger for the past 2 years, we've
just got another set and he's really keen to get into that.
Town Junior is perfect, he can handle it easily, follow the instructions, plan
and layout the roads and buildings, and yes he does build his own models too
(but staying within the town theme). The 2000 range City isn't quite as
juniorised as 1998/1999 but is still quite simple, and he does show a
preference for these newer models. But while it is perfect now I can't see
that being the case in 2 years time, maybe even sooner. We only have 2
pre-juniorisation models, the Pizzeria which is frustrating for him, he
can't build it himself, it keeps collapsing and is a bit too fiddly.
However, the other day he built the 6645 Street Sweeper by himself, he was
so pleased as he recognised it as a great achievement. I don't recall this
reaction the first time he built a Jr model, and it was only a few weeks
ago that he couldn't build the 6645 at all.
My son also has access to a large collection of Freestyle pieces. He has
never ever touched the chunky beginner Freestyle stuff despite it being
around for 2 years, this stuff seems pointless if you've got Duplo to start
out with. He is just now becoming interested in building his own models
with the advanced pieces and standard basic 1* and 2* bricks from his own
ideas (i.e. without the "you build a town with this stuff" preconception),
but the preference is still with the town.
Where do I see him in 2 years (Age 7)? Well, unless Lego get their act
together and bring back some more advanced models, we'll be relying on that
freestyle while the town collects dust in a corner, until one day I put it
away and he doesn't even notice (just like the Duplo).
Is Juniorisation good?
- Yes, if you have a 4-7 year old child.
- Yes, if Lego want to interest younger children in Lego - those who have never
had exposure to the product through Duplo (however, this is on the knife
edge of falling foul to the "too expensive" problem in the same way).
- No, if you want to invest in a product that will interest your kids for
several years to come (and at that price, you want that.)
Are Lego already a household name? Probably. Is it a good name? Not
really, unless "that hideously expensive plastic stuff" can be taken as good.
Are Lego going to be the strongest brand by 2005? I don't think so, not
unless things change and fast. As things are its lifespan is too limited,
it is too expensive, and you have to be able to buy an awful lot to get a
decent selection of parts in any theme. ( I take "the strongest brand" to
mean "a well known brand that nearly everyone has some of at home" and at
least in Australia, they are far from that. Even if Lego gets their act
together right now, it will take a lot more than 4 years to turn that
around).
I won't get started on Lego computer games, children's books etc. I buy a lot
of bricks but I can't ever see myself buying that stuff, Lego don't waste
your time, get back to basics and the consumers might just come back to you.
And if you've just read all of that - thanks for taking the time to listen :)
Deidre
drb@tasmail.com
|
|
Message has 8 Replies:
45 Messages in This Thread:
   
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
